Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 2
Jaḍa Bharata Instructs King Rahūgaṇa: The Mind as Bondage and the Two Kṣetrajñas
तथैव राजन्नुरुगार्हमेध-वितानविद्योरुविजृम्भितेषु । न वेदवादेषु हि तत्त्ववाद:प्रायेण शुद्धो नु चकास्ति साधु: ॥ २ ॥
tathaiva rājann uru-gārhamedha- vitāna-vidyoru-vijṛmbhiteṣu na veda-vādeṣu hi tattva-vādaḥ prāyeṇa śuddho nu cakāsti sādhuḥ
Ó rei, as conversas sobre a relação entre senhor e servo, rei e súdito e semelhantes são, em essência, falas sobre atividades materiais. Os apegados ao karma-kāṇḍa dos Vedas depositam fé em sacrifícios e obras externas; para eles, o conhecimento da verdade e o progresso espiritual quase não se manifestam.
In this verse, two words are significant — veda-vāda and tattva-vāda. According to Bhagavad-gītā, those who are simply attached to the Vedas and who do not understand the purpose of the Vedas or the Vedānta-sūtra are called veda-vāda-ratāḥ.
FAQs
This verse says that in elaborate household ritualism and in mere Vedic disputation, pure discussion of tattva (ultimate reality) is generally not revealed; realization of truth requires more than argument and ritual expansion.
Rahugana approached Bharata with pride and worldly assumptions; Bharata corrects him by showing that external learning, ritual sophistication, and scriptural debate often fail to uncover pure spiritual truth without genuine realization.
Don’t mistake information, debate, or religious formality for transformation—seek realized guidance, cultivate humility, and focus on inner purification and devotion that reveals truth beyond mere argument.